STARKVILLE — Most fans would assume, upon hearing that Mississippi State put up 100 points in its season opener against Memphis on Thursday night, that Jerkaila Jordan played a big role in the explosive offensive performance.
But the Bulldogs’ leading scorer from last year was held to just two points on 1-for-11 shooting, and yet MSU won comfortably anyway. Grad transfer guard Eniya Russell led the way with 26 points, Madina Okot had 14 points and 17 rebounds in her Bulldogs debut and MSU cruised in the second half for a 100-56 win over the Tigers.
“We know how great of a player Jerkaila is,” said Debreasha Powe, who added 16 points on 4-for-7 from 3-point range. “But if she has an off night, and that happens in basketball, she believes in us. She trusts in us to go in and pick up what’s out there. It shows how diverse we are. We have different scorers, we all can score. I’m really excited to see where this team goes.”
Okot started in the post for the Bulldogs (1-0) and dominated the opening stretch with seven points, five rebounds and a block in the first quarter alone. The 6-foot, 6-inch center from Kenya played 23 minutes and finished with three blocks as well.
“Madina is the definition of a humble beast,” said Chandler Prater, a grad transfer who previously played at Kansas and Oklahoma State. “She just puts her head down and works, and she supports us in every (sense) of the word. She gets her work done and she just makes it look easy. She makes it look effortless. She rarely breaks a sweat, and we all respect her so much for how much she’s been through.”
Both teams were sloppy on offense in the second quarter, when Memphis (1-1) cut the deficit to six points before MSU used a 7-0 run to go back up by double digits at halftime. Prater, who had nine points and nine rebounds despite dealing with foul trouble, made a layup and three free throws during that spurt.
Bulldogs head coach Sam Purcell was worried about the Tigers’ rebounding prowess before the game, but MSU dominated the glass, out-rebounding Memphis 61-33. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 13 times to the Tigers’ 14, but had a 23-4 edge in points off turnovers and a 46-16 edge in paint points.
“This team could be special,” Purcell said. “I honestly didn’t know what to expect because there are so many new pieces, so many new faces, but I learned a lot tonight. I learned that we’re tough.”
MSU shot 63 percent in the second half, scoring 34 points in the third quarter and 30 more in the fourth. Memphis made just 27 percent of its field goals for the game, and while Tilly Boler finished with 23 points, no other Tiger had more than 10. Russell, who scored a combined 29 points in two games against the Bulldogs last year with Kentucky, heated up in the third quarter with 12 points in that period.
The five-game homestand to begin the season continues Sunday against Alcorn State.
“When we first came out for the second half, we were just in the flow of the game,” Russell said. “We were sharing the ball more, we were more selfless, everyone had confidence in everybody. After everybody saw that first shot go through the hoop, it was good. It felt like we were at practice again.”
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